Objective
This study is designed to describe an extremely far-lateral transforaminal endoscopic decompression technique and outcome in the patients with lumbar disc herniations.
Methods
The authors underwent 256 posterolateral endoscopic lumbar discectomies between 1993 and 2003. Among them, a retrospective review involving 102 consecutive cases of lumbar disc herniations treated by extremely far-lateral transforaminal endoscopic discectomy was conducted. A retrospective assessment of 94 patients was performed at least 3 months after their index operation. The surgeon-performed assessment was done according to the modified Macnab criteria. The patient-performed outcome was graded according to a modified scale of 0(no pain) to 10(their index pain).
Results
The surgeon-performed assessment showed satisfactory results in 97 cases of 102 cases. The pain level dropped from 10 to 1.08 in 102 cases. The responses indicated that 89.3% of the 94 respondents were satisfied with their surgical outcome and would undergo the same endoscopic procedure again if met with a similar herniation in the future. The poor outcome occurred in 4.9% of 102 patients and 10.7% of 94 respondents were the questionnaire group. The combined major and minor complication rate was 4.9%.
Conclusion
The surgical outcome of extremely far-lateral transforaminal endoscopic discectomy for the treatment of lumbar disc herniations is comparable with the traditional open lumbar discectomy.
